Percutaneous spinal cord stimulation (“SCS”) electrodes are catheters having electrical contacts at their ends and wires running through them to transmit an electrical signal to those contacts from a power source. They are inserted into the spinal canal through needles and precisely positioned using fluoroscopic guidance and careful testing in an awake patient. Once a final position is verified, they are secured in position using an anchoring sleeve through which the electrode passes, and suturing the anchoring sleeve in place. Unfortunately, after several months in situ, such percutaneous electrodes are prone to migration, even after scar tissue encapsulates the electrode.
Previous attempts have been made to mitigate the tendency of electrodes to migrate after implantation. For instance, efforts have been made to introduce adhesive (e.g., biocompatible glue or caulk) to fill the dead space between the inside of the anchor and the outside of the lead or catheter. Unfortunately, however, injecting such adhesive into the miniscule dead space between the inside of the anchor and the outside of the lead or catheter is a very difficult task, as it is quite difficult to insert the tip of an injector between the outside of the lead or catheter and the inside of the silicone elastomer anchor. Moreover, such delicate maneuvers must be carried out at the bottom of a surgical wound, further complicating the effort.
It would therefore be advantageous to provide an improved device capable of anchoring a percutaneous SCS electrode or other catheter-type instrument without requiring such a difficult placement of an injector tip between the electrode or catheter and the interior of the anchor for introducing adhesive between the anchor and the electrode or catheter.